Sports reporter

The where (a few metres out from the Brisbane line) was about the only thing everyone could agree upon. The why, what and even the who all remained a mystery in a fiery postscript to the Broncos’ 12-10 over North Queensland.

A pair of late turnovers would eventually cost North Queensland victory in a relentless state derby that had all of the willingness of a game six months down the road. But the Cowboys were seething at a pair of first-half decisions that left them rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

Ash Graham was penalised in the ninth minute for pushing Corey Norman in the air while contesting a bomb, although the Cowboys maintain he was simply challenging for the ball and his eyes never left the descending pill.

Josh Hoffman of the Broncos takes on the defence. Photo: Getty Images

But the biggest sore point came in the 32nd minute, when the night fell into farce as referee Ashley Klein called for a review of a possible penalty trial as Corey Parker came from the clouds to make a try-saver on either Gavin Cooper or Joel Reithmuller, depending on which team you believe.

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The Cowboys had gone 80 metres before Parker saved the day. Klein believed he was a mile offside and called for a video review, suggesting a penalty try was in the making, even though the ball carrier came nowhere near crossing.

It all came to nothing. Parker was cleared, the Broncos were given a rest and a chance to regroup on their line, the

Cowboys were allegedly allowed to restart on the third tackle instead of the fifth and confusion reigned supreme.

Cowboys coach Neil Henry was livid with the bizarre series of events, calling on referees boss Daniel Anderson to ensure officials nailed the basics given the high stakes.

“Corey Parker was called for a penalty try possibly for making a tackle inside the 10. You don’t get a penalty – we (the refs) got that wrong – it’s play three. Tackle three for you after we’ve made a line break,” Henry said.

“They have a two-minute break on a review situation where they say there’s nothing wrong. It was no chance of being a try – Joel Reithmuller was nowhere near the tryline, so what were they reviewing?

“We’ve worked down there and on two occasions we don’t get a reward out of it. Get it right.

“We made some errors at the back end of the game and we need to be better than that. But they are momentum shifts. It takes that momentum away.

It seemed as if the Broncos were given the better fortune on the play but their coach, Anthony Griffin, wasn’t impressed either. Brisbane believes it was the fifth tackle, which was then wound back to the third, given the Cowboys extra shots from a few metres out.

If Brisbane’s stats are correct and the Cowboys had have scored on extra plays, all hell would have broken loose.

“They’re drawing a long bow if they are going to give a penalty try for that,” Griffin said.

“He took the tackle count back to play three as well. We had to do three more plays after that. I don’t know what was going through anyone’s head for that period.

“I’m not critical of the referees. (But) how do you lose the tackle count? We’ve got two of them out there, two on the sideline, two upstairs. In a game like that, we’ve then got to defend two or three more plays.”

Given the rough treatment dished out to the Cowboys in last year’s semi-final, the frustration with officiating has some basis. Their captain Jonathan Thurston said the referees have been better this year but hasn’t put Klein on the invite list for the Cowboys Christmas party.

“You’ve got Ashley Klein, who has been around for a while, you’d expect him to get the calls right. No doubt about it. But like Neil said, the game was there for the taking and we weren’t good enough. But we’ve been on the wrong end of the calls for a while now,” Thurston said.

The slightly surreal video referral and the fall-out from the first-half decisions dominated post-game discussion. But this was a game of substantial quality that only furthered Brisbane’s claims as a genuine top eight side, despite having few admirers just weeks ago.

The backline play of Jack Reed, Norman and Josh Hoffman defied the greasy conditions and Sam Thaiday, who should be back in the Australian side, and Ben Hannant were a match for the dominant Cowboys pack.

North Queensland lost Matt Bowen before the match to a knee injury and would have dearly loved his services. When the night called for late brilliance, the Cowboys could only manage dropped ball on key possessions.

The Broncos have now despatched both Queensland clubs and are defying doubters as their season takes flight. The Cowboys, a club with genuine pre-season premiership credentials, must begin stepping through the gears.